From water’s edge to thousands of feet below, Washington’s seascapes are replete with weird, fascinating animals and plants, currents and geology that create one of the most productive ocean systems on earth.

OUR MARINE WORK

Oceans are critical to our health and the wellbeing of our planet. At the Nature Conservancy in Washington, we are conserving the living marine ecosystems that support our coastal communities. Restoring marine waters to health creates huge benefits:

Our work is collaborative and science based. In one program we are working with Pacific Coast tribes and other stakeholders to plan for use of our marine waters in ways that conserve fish habitat and prepare for the impacts of sea level rise, coastal flooding, and ocean acidification.

Innovation is an important aspect of our marine work. In Ilwaco, we’re partnering with bottom trawl fishermen to develop a new way to catch lingcod that will be less damaging than bottom trawls and bring a more valuable product to market.

As we look to the future, vessel traffic and the potential for oil spills both pose huge threats to marine waters and shoreline. We are partnering with the Makah tribe and others to improve the trans-boundary vessel traffic system, diminish the risk of oil spills and limit the damage if a spill does happen.

With your support, we will leave our marine environment in better health for everyone who loves and depends on it today, and in the future.